With a minimum write speed of 9 megabytes per second, the new SanDisk Ultra II Card is 50 percent faster than SanDisk's Ultra CF card. The increasing megapixel count of digital cameras can result in extremely large image files which lengthens the time required for the camera to capture the image and save it to the digital film card. SanDisk has designed its new SanDisk Ultra II CF and SD cards so that large image files can be saved in less time and photographers can take additional pictures more quickly. The cards are fully compatible and interchangeable with all CF digital cameras, card readers and adapters. Each card features a minimum write speed of 9 megabytes per second (MB/sec.) and a minimum read speed of 10MB/sec. SanDisk's Ultra CompactFlash / Ultra II CompactFlash, is a line of high-speed storage cards specifically designed for use in the rapidly growing market segment of high-performance digital cameras. This card is perfect for advanced photographers who require high-performance cards to quickly shoot many high-resolution images; ideal for photos of moving cars or trains, sporting events, sprinting animals or any other event that requires fast snapshot and recovery time. In advanced cameras, these cards have been developed to save large image files to the card as quickly as possible so the camera will be ready to take the next picture. SanDisk Ultra CompactFlash/Ultra II cards are fully compatible and interchangeab
1 It Gets the Job Done
I purchased two 256MB SanDisk Ultra II CF cards for use in my Canon PowerShot A95 5MP digital camera. I have had none of the problems described by some of the other reviewers. The card seems a little slower than the Canon card that was included with the camera package - but not remarkably slower. And considering the price and availablity of Canon cards, the Ultra II seems to be a good compromise of price & performance for this camera.
2 Great Card at a Great Price
I recently had to replace my Lexar 128 CF card for my Kodak easyshare that I use at work. FOr some reason, that card crapped out on me. I've had fairly good experiences with Lexar, but recently have heard more and more problems come up. Well, all in all, this card works great. The digital camera may not be able to take advantage of the write speed, but it definately is fast when using a CF reader. I would recommend this to anyone. I'm convinced that Sandisk is the way to go for all my future purposes.
3 The best memory card that you can find.
It has worked flawlessly for all of the time that I been using it. Its fast as you might expect and it can also support more extreme temperatures than my digital camera. The only difference with this memory card and the extreme edition that is also from SanDisk is that it does not include the software to recover photographs that were erased by mistake and that the range of temperatures that it can resist is not as great. Generally normal digital cameras will not be able to write or read the memory card to its max; only the digital SLR cameras can accomplish this task. Also only the digital SLRs can work beyond the extreme temperatures that this memory card is tested for.
4 Cost me a once in a lifetime trip to Rome!
I purchased my new SanDisk Ultra II 256 MB CF card in April for a trip to Italy in May. I filled the card up with pictures (Canon Elf) and all seemed well. I was able to review the pictures on the camera while in Rome fine. When I returned to the States, the CF card was unreadable by any computer. Even a Data Recovery company said it was corrupted beyond recovery. I seem to have lost about 80 pictures of a once in a lifetime trip to Rome Italy. Thanks Sandisk.
5 Speedy!
I recently replaced a lost card with the Ultra II. Both card read and write speed in the camera improved noticeably. You should notice a significant improvement in performance if you use a PCMCIA adaptor or USB2 card reader to access the photos from the card.
6 Great Value
At first I was a bit hesitant to get Sandisk products because I've heard so many people complaining. But after doing thorough research, I found that the rest of the brands were being equally lambasted by users. So, I decided to choose based on technicals and not opinions. Well, this CompactFlash card is quite powerful and what was the bearing point for me to lean and buy this is its price. I've used it to record digital video clips, I've taken pictures of all sizes and with different visual effects, I've done high-speed shutter (~2.2 shots/sec @ 1024x768) and it works phenomenally and flawlessly. I have not had ANY of the errors people write so much about and I'm actually sure enough that I'm willing to recommend it to others.
The 256MB its sufficient for about 200 3.1-Megapixel high-quality pictures. Which can hold a weekend's vacation worth of pictures without having to erase or transfer them to your computer. However, if you can afford the extra $50, I suggest buying the 512Mb one. In short: good value, excellent performance, good price and good quality.
7 Its great!
This is a great card, works perfectly in the canon powershot s500 digital elph. I can take 99 top notch photos. If you bought the card, just be sure to register at www.sandisk.com/registration within 30 days or you will get no warranty.
8 Very good with my A75
Great, fast ! You need a 2.0 or PCIMA card reader for faster transfers to computer.
9 Only faster in SOME cameras, slower in others
I was hoping to increase the write speed on my Minolta 7i which makes me wait for a full write before I can take the next photo. In this camera, the Ultra II is actually slower than a "regular" SanDisk 256MB card. Ran a couple of quick tests, using the Ultra II, a "regular speed" SanDisk CF and a 1G IBM CF Micro Drive:
--------------------------------------------
In the 7i, taking a macro photo of a catalog page with lots of colors, small images and text (5 MP):
UltraII - 13 seconds RAW : 15 seconds TIF : 4.5 seconds full size JPG.
Regular - 11 seconds RAW: 14 seconds TIF : 3.8 seconds JPG
1G IBM MD - 12 Seconds RAW : 18 seconds TIF : 4.0 seconds JPG
_______________________________
Performance in my Nikon D-100 was better when taking the same (6.1MP) landscape photo:
Ultra II - 5.1 seconds RAW : 25 seconds TIF : 3.2 seconds full size JPG
Regular - 5.4 seconds RAW : 26 seconds TIF : 3.7 seconds JPG
1G IBM MD - 11 seconds RAW : 29.3 seconds TIF : 4.2 seconds JPG
*******************************************
When I purchased this card, Amazon was having a GREAT sale on it, I paid a dollar more than what a "standard" speed card would cost, so I am not irritated. If I had paid the normal retail price though, I'd be upset with its less than stellar performance in the intended application.
So, make sure that your camera can take advantage of the increased write speed of this card before you spend the extra money on it over a "standard" speed card. I'll be using it as backup on the Nikon rather than as a primary on the Minolta.
10 Disk Format Problems
When I first used this card with a Nikon Coolpix 4300, it worked for the first 207 photos. Suddenly, my camera showed an error message on the screen saying, "This card cannot be read.". Even after powering off and on the camera, I had the same error message. I wasn't able to access the card. I wasn't able to access the card on my computer either, through USB card readers or through the camera itself. The computer behaved as though there was no CompactFlash card there, and I continued to receive prompts to insert a disk. According to Windows XP, the format of the card is RAW, when it's really supposed to be FAT32 (or FAT16 or FAT?). Since I can't access the card, I can't format it. At least I was able to recover more than half of those photos with freeware Zero Assumption Digital Image Recovery. Perhaps I merely became unlucky.
11 Never thought it would make much difference
Having read review after review on whether or not the flash card actually made a difference, I was sceptical when formating my newly purchased card. Took the first image (Nikon 5000) and had to double check that my image settings weren't changed. The camera wrote the image to disk faster than other cards I've used. To give an easy comparison, in 'fine' mode it writes as fast as it did in 'normal' with an older flash card.
Then while uploading the images to my Mac, the files transfered almost twice as fast. i haven't timed it but it is definitely faster.
Needless to say, I no longer use my other flash cards. I've missed too many shots in the past while waiting for the image to write.
12 She's willing to go fast, but ya gotta have a nice ride...
Capabilities
Write: 9 mb/sec
Read: 10 mb/sec
The card is great, the documentation is not so great. My Canon Powershot A60 was transferring at about 1 mb/sec, nowhere near the speeds the box mocked me with :( I thought maybe my camera was slow, so I tried an internal card reader which gave me the same speed. Of course, I thought the disc was the problem...
Now here's where it gets tricky. The transfer rate will depend on 3 pieces of hardware, including the camera. Allow me to use a simple analogy of a corvette cruisin' down wide roads at 180 mph. If we drive that same vette down the mountain on those tiny, itty bitty roads our spedometer will not be going over 5-10 mph. Now, imagine me, Jod, cruisin' down that same wide road our vette tore up, but in a Pinto. I'm not going fast no matter how big our road is, am I?
Ride + Road = Top Speed
Reader + Bus = Max Transfer Rate
So if I use my laptop's fairly decent card reader that travels on a USB 2.0 highway, I can write 2 mb/sec. That's not much faster is it? Well, we have yet another major player in our game, a slow hard drive. So I send the files to my tower via ethernet which rewards me with 6 mb/sec!! This is much faster than before, but not quite the "max" speed Mr. and Mrs. SanDisk told us about. If I want to floor it, I need a faster reader or "car." 7.5 mb/sec would be my new top speed with a Lexar USB 2.0 CompactFlash reader. I will be recieving a SanDisk ImageMate USB 2.0 CompactFlash reader later in the week. That slim silver casing looks sexy fast, but will it deliver?
Cheers,
Jod :-)
13 Fast Card
I have a Canon G5. When compared to a standard Kingston and SimpleTech CF card, the Sandisk Ultra II seems to operaate up to 60% faster when taking new pictures or browsing existing pictures on the card. As far as transfer rates to the PC, I don't see any difference in performance using a USB1.1 interface, either directly from the camera or from a USB card reader. This card operates fast between shots and is worth the premium if you have a fast camera that can take advantage of its speed. One of the newer SLR digitals would be a great pairing with this card. Great product.
14 Fast Delivery
Just wanted to let people know that I placed an order, and received my flash card within 7 days of the order. So take advantage of the price, and it seems they have stock again. Have just started using the new card and have had no problems (Canon A75).
15 Hey, this is faster
When I purchased my Canon A70, I installed a Kodak 256 card. I thought, "A card is a card is a card." When I took a 30 second high res video clip (640x480), the camera needed about 5 seconds at the end of the video clip for "processing". I am not sure what it was actually doing (If the image was not already in memory, where was it?). Regardless! With this card installed, the camera needs less than one second to "finish processing" a 30 second hi-res video. It is clearly a much faster camera all around now. I was suprised that I noticed the difference, but it is real.
16 Super fast memory card
Using a Nikon Coolpix 2100 (only 2 megapixels) this card is really very fast. It writes almost instantly, it seems, compared to the Lexar card that came with the camera. Even uncompressed 2 megapixel shots write in less than a second, so you can shoot a lot, and for smaller images (like 2 megapixels) the capacity is over 500 compressed, or over 250 uncompressed.... it's great.
Lifetime warrantee on the card makes me comfortable it's not going to crap out (I just got it yesterday, so I can't comment on it's longevity, but there's that lifetime warrantee, so...), and it's really affordable from Amazon.com.
I recommned this memory card with no reservations.
17 Excellent replacement for the MemoryStic
Sandisk Ultra II is excellent and efficient way to replace memorystic pro.It stroes right from digital images to mp3 songs and play them flawlessly.I am using it from last two months and it works fine in my PDA
18 CF Disk Error .... Fixed ...
I'm just stunned ... I thought the SanDisk Ultra II I bought was defective as my Canon S50 DigiCam seemingly w/o reason had a disk error !
But Nooooo ... much to my surprise the SanDisk Ultra 256 card is not defective but operator error resulted in corrupted disk format ...
I found a free demo tool that revealed all the photos are still intact ... and, after purchasing the tool, I recoved all but a part of one photo!
Here is the s/w I used: (http://www.lc-tech.com/photorecovery.htm)
FWIW: Be very careful when using a CF Reader and swapping CF cards ... be sure to do an eject and don't manually pop a CF card out and pop another in!
19 For many, just not worth the premium.
I'm not sure there's a noticeable speed difference for me in either taking pics or in accessing the card as a drive (including image transfers). There is a price bump to consider. Currently, up-to-date CF memory goes for about a quarter/meg. Therefore, there is at this time a 20% premium for speed you're unlikely to notice.
20 Card conked off after a year of use.
A sandisk card that I'd purchased conked after one year of use. I don't think its worth buying a cheap product that's going to last only a year. I'd rather buy a expensive brand thats going to last me at least 3-4 years.
21 Quickly take pictures with Ultra II
I bought this compact flash (CF) card for my Canon S50. At the highest quality setting, each picture I take can easily be 2.5 MB or more. Writing this large size to the CF card will significantly slow down the ability for anyone to quickly take pictures or even viewing them. This product if fast, reliable (I've never lost any pictures), and it's priced very competitively (Ultra II is close to the same price as Ultra I and other fast CF cards).
22 Very Fast
I wanted a fast flash memory card. This guy is it. Compared to a "standard" Sandisk 256MB, this Ultra II is 5 times faster. Here are my results copying (writing) a 36 MB file to the card: 34 sec for the standard card and 7 sec for the Ultra II. Reading from the card was even faster. Great product. And the Amazon price seems very good too, based on my limited searching.
23 A must for 4MP digital camera
I use it with a Minolta Dimage S414. The card is noticeable faster then the 16MB standard card included with the camera. I can recommend this card. The 256MB capacity allow to store cca. 117 pics in 2240 mode with fine resolution.
24 High quality FAST memory card!
These cards are a GREAT upgrade for any digital camera! Most digital camera only come with a small memory card, 32MB seems common. I always recommend getting an upgraded memory card immediately upon purchasing a digital camera - It makes such a huge difference!
This particular card is especially nice. It's got a very fast write speed, which is more important than you might think! The better the write speed, the faster the picture you take it put on the card. The faster that is, the faster you can take another picture!
Overall I've been extremely happy with this card. It's fast and reliable. I highly recommend this card, you won't be disappointed.
25 Good fast memory. Keep away from radiation!
These cards are well priced and indead fast. I use mine to watch short films on my Toshiba e740 PDA so the speed of the memory is crucial. Now let me tell you something that may be the reason some have ragged on this card. "Irradiation" that USPS and some UPS offices use can not only erase this memory but actually destroy it. I know this because I work for a firm that puts out units with these cards built in all the time. We actually had to do a re-call due to all the irradiation going on during the anthrax scare. For this reason either buy locally or ship fed-ex or UPS air. Dont find out the hard way that your card has been irradiated and destroyed...just my advice.
26 Must buy for digital cameras
Very fast read/write speed compared to my existing 256MB card -- Lexar Media 256 MB (CF256-12-251). You might ask if this high speed is required. And the answer is YES, especially the write speed. Otherwise you will be waiting for the image to be written on your card before you can take the next shot. When you want to take action photos, this card really help you out. I am very happy with card and strongly recommend it. By the way I am using this card with Nikon 5700 camera.
27 Sandisk Ultra II 256 MB cards really are faster
I purchased this product to use in a Sandisk Firewire CF card reader in order to transfer data files between the home and the office. I normally use 100MB Zip disks, but the transfer rate using a USB Zip250 for a 30 MB file is 3 min. 19 sec. which is incredibly slow. I had a Sandisk 128 MB CF card, but using the Firewire CF card reader, a 30 MB file still took 1 min. 9 sec. to transfer so I bought the Sandisk Ultra II 256 MB card since it was supposed to have a higher transfer rate. It did. It allowed the transfer of the 30 MB file in 15 seconds which is 4.6 times faster than the non-ultra Sandisk CF card and 13 times faster than a 100MB Zip disk in a USB Zip250 drive. I was pleasantly surprised. I would buy another one to use in my digital camera since I am pretty sure it will function faster than the non-ultra Sandisk CF card I use now. Plus, the Ultra II card was no more expensive than the non-ultra card and the Sandisk Ultra II CF card was comparably or better priced compared to CF cards from other manufacturers.
